Cruising Carolina's curves - Yamaha's Star 1300 raises bar s

[totalmotorcycle]

Cruising Carolina's curves - Yamaha's Star 1300 raises bar significantly New model now owns middleweight arena
Oct. 21, 2006 - Toronto Star - thestar.com



Asheville, N.C.—Western North Carolina is more than just NASCAR, Opie and Mayberry. It's also home to the Blue Ridge Parkway, a scenic, snaking ribbon of asphalt almost 700 kilometres long, much of it through the southern Appalachian Mountains.

With little traffic at this time of year and the hills ablaze with fall colours, it was the perfect venue for the world press launch of Yamaha's new Star 1300 cruiser.

Not just an updated version of Yamaha's venerable air-cooled, still-available V-Star 1100, the 1300 is a completely new design.

Even though the 1300's engine looks like a traditional, air-cooled, pushrod V-twin, it's a thoroughly modern, liquid-cooled, four-valve-per-cylinder, SOHC powerplant, which is actually smaller than the old 1100 mill.

With fuel injection, and a 9.5:1 compression ratio, the Star 1300 pumps out an extra 13 horsepower and 18 lb.-ft. of torque over the 1100's.

The clutch is smooth and progressive, with a very light pull for a cable-operated unit. The shifter isn't exactly a hot knife through butter but is positive and light, with a longish throw.

Power is strong, but not overwhelming at low revs. The fuel injection is linear and the free-revving 1304 cc engine really punches through from mid-range on up. And don't be afraid to wind `er up as double-crankshaft balancers on either side of the crank quell nasty vibes while allowing the traditional "pulse" feeling through.

Other companies should take note of what Yamaha does with cruiser suspension. The Stratoliner leads the mega-cruiser league and now the Star 1300 owns the middleweight arena.

A single shock with 110 mm of travel lives aft, and, whether it's the shock, the linkage or long rear swingarm, it absorbs bumps like a champ while keeping the rear end in line. I deliberately aimed for a few bumps and heaves just to see whether I could upset the chassis or get a jolt through my spine. No dice. Smooth as a frog's bottom.

The front forks are traditional 41 mm units with 135 mm of travel, with spring and damping rates nicely matched to the weight and character of the machine. Even though the wheelbase is full-sized at 1,690 mm (66.5 inches) for that classic long, low profile, pulling feet-up U-turns on two-lane roads while doing the photo shoot was easy.

Taller riders were cramped on the 1100 and, even though the 1300's seat height is the same at 715 mm (28.1 inches), it's 30 mm farther back and the bars are 27 mm lower.

At 283 kg (622 lb.) dry, the Star 1300 is no featherweight, but only about 11 kilos more than the 1100. Once underway, the steering is delightfully light and neutral, even considering the beefy 130-section front tire.

Handling is, like all Yamaha cruisers, well above average and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I could hustle it through the endless curves of the Blue Ridge and surrounding roads.

Parts will drag under spirited riding but the 1300 has easily replaceable primary and secondary feelers under the floorboards. Granted, with the awesome North Carolina twisties beckoning, I rode the Star harder than most average riders ever would and, even though the feelers touched down on a regular basis, there is ample audible warning (and clearance) before anything hard hits the deck.

The overall gearing is tall for very relaxed cruising at highway speeds. There's no tach fitted to the attractive, handlebar-mounted instrument pod, but the spec sheet claims that 70 m.p.h. (about 120 km/h) equates to 3400 r.p.m. The Star just loafed along at that speed on the freeway, but on two-lane roads at 80 km/h, fifth seemed a bit tall and the motorcycle responded much better in fourth.

Front brakes are twin 298 mm discs squeezed by twin pot calipers and, although a firm squeeze stops the Star quite abruptly, the lever is fairly spongy with a weak initial bite — exactly how most cruiser riders like it.

Final drive is by a clean, efficient, low-maintenance belt instead of a power robbing shaft drive system.

The Star 1300 comes dressed in two different suits: the standard at $13,799 and Tour version, which checks in at $15,299 with a windshield, passenger backrest and leather coated hard bags.


I'm a believer that middleweights of all genres are better than the big guns for daily riding and, after a full day of experiencing both standard and Touring versions on some simply incredible North Carolina roads, the sweet-riding Star 1300 proves my point.

The middleweight cruiser bar has been raised again — by a significant margin.